Chinese Super League goalkeeper blasted for ‘the ultimate gamesmanship’ with theatrics enraging Shanghai Port fans
- Chengdu Rongcheng’s Zhang Yan appeared to waste time throughout a 1-0 win over Shanghai Port
- Striker Wu Lei remonstrated with Zhang and rubbed his hair, with the goalkeeper then rolling around on the turf feigning injury and clutching his face
A Chinese Super league goalkeeper has come in for criticism for showing “the ultimate gamesmanship” with a series of theatrics during a crucial top-of-the-table clash on Saturday night.
Chengdu Rongcheng goalkeeper Zhang Yan appeared to waste time throughout a 1-0 win over Shanghai Port, increasingly more so in the final moments before a late Manuel Palacios goal.
His actions wound up the home crowd in Shanghai, with men’s national team striker Wu Lei taking exception and going over to remonstrate with Zhang, who had flopped down to the ground and clutched the ball close to his chest despite not being under any pressure from an opposition player.
Former Espanyol striker Wu shouted at the goalkeeper and rubbed his hair, with Zhang then proceeding to roll around on the turf, clutching his face as he feigned serious injury.
“I was at this game, he went down every 5 minutes, even while it was 0-0 … the whole stadium shouting ‘stupid [expletive], stupid [expletive], stupid ]expletive]’,” one user wrote on Twitter, posting a series of laughing emojis.
